


A Meeting Long Overdue

by darlinghoots



Category: Hannibal (TV), Hannibal Lecter Series - All Media Types, Hannibal Lecter Tetralogy - Thomas Harris
Genre: Gen, especially couple wise, i really don't know how to tag this, so just yeah
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-06
Updated: 2013-10-06
Packaged: 2017-12-28 13:52:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,715
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/992722
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/darlinghoots/pseuds/darlinghoots
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Will Graham gets a visit from Clarice Starling</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Meeting Long Overdue

**Author's Note:**

> So, I always thought it would be neat to have Clarice meet Will.
> 
> And this one is sorta a sequel to my other Hannibal story, An Unexpected Visitor. But it can be read alone. And like in that one, I sort of mix all the Hannibal stuff, like the movies, the books, and the tv show. So, just keep that in mind as you read, that everything is mixed up.
> 
> Also, like my last story about this, you can implicate that Hannibal and Will had a relationship or not. I made it a bit ambiguous for all you guys' imagination.

Will made his way up to his house. It was five o’clock on a Friday, the best time in the world, really. He wiped the sweat off his brow as he approached the door. He turned around and glanced over his property. He had straightened everything up so that it actually looked a lot nicer than it had before. It didn’t look like a junk yard anymore. He smiled to himself before walking into the house.

 

Will walked into the kitchen and went straight to the fridge. He opened the door and pulled out a water bottle, chugging down half of it in one gulp.

 

It had been ten years since that very unwanted visit of Hannibal Lecter. Ten very long years. He almost wanted to call it unexpected, but he knew it was coming, one way or another. Will had made sure that he improved himself since then, to be ready, just in case Hannibal decided to come back for him.

 

He was concerned now more than before. He had heard what had happened with Mason Verger, Clarice Starling, and Paul Krendler. He knew that Hannibal was still out there. And Clarice Starling was missing as well.

 

Will tried not to put two and two together on this, but it was hard not to. He had seen how Hannibal had talked about Clarice. Hannibal may not have loved her, but there was something there. Just like there was with Will. Hannibal had given Will the same option. He didn’t know Clarice very well, but given the way the FBI just dropped her on her ass, he could see how being with Hannibal could be tempting and more appealing.

 

He finished his bottle of water and made his way back outside. It was beautiful out, a perfect evening to just relax and enjoy life. Molly would be home soon. She still worked at that same store she worked at all those years ago. Things between them were back to the way they were before everything happened, at least, to Will they were.

 

They still had had their issues. They always had issues. Will just wasn’t cut out for a relationship, but he worked his ass off to keep it. It was one of the only good things in his life now. He never did tell Molly about Hannibal’s visit. He wasn’t quite sure how she would have reacted to that. But they did have a small separation and she did threaten him with divorce. Molly packed up some of her stuff and left him until he got his shit together and stopped drinking.

 

Now, she didn’t just ignore him or anything. She helped him along. Coming over to make sure there was no alcohol in the house, and taking him to a rehab center. They just weren’t acting like a couple during that time period. Molly was dealing with some things as well. So it was good for both of them to be apart. It was what Will needed. But all of that was in the past. Now things were good.

 

Will had actually set up his own business with fixing boat motors and all that. Willy had moved to California with his new wife a few years ago. Willy was now a minor league baseball player, taking after his dad and everything. It stung a bit, knowing that all those little lesson about fishing and boat motors didn’t have any effect, but it wasn’t his place really to complain about it.

 

It made Molly sad, but she still went to Willy’s games when she could. Some weekends she would just pack up and go to California to visit him for a few weeks. Will usually never went with her. He did occasionally. But he felt like he was intruding sometimes. Willy loved him and treated him like a father, and Will loved him like a son, but in the end, Willy isn’t really his. So Will just let it be what it was and was just happy that he was in his life at all.

 

But Will was happy. Things were much better than before, but he always felt that there was something missing in his life. He hated his so called gift, but it was a part of him. And when he wasn’t using it, he felt incomplete.

 

Will made his way down to the beach and sat down in his lawn chair. It wasn’t long before their dog; a golden retriever named Sunny, came over and lay down by his feet. Sunny reminded him of Winston and gave Will a sense of comfort. He had missed his dogs terribly and was glad to have one back around him again. Molly didn’t approve of Will’s love for strays, but she didn’t object every time he brought one home.

 

Will was in the process of dozing off when he heard a voice come from behind him. Sunny sat up but surprisingly didn’t bark.

 

“Excuse me?” Will opened his eyes. The voice belonged to a woman and there was an accent in it, obviously eastern or something along those lines. It was very peculiar. It sounded like the woman was trying to hide the accent.

 

He looked over and took in the woman in front of him. She was about his height, very lanky yet very poised and professional. She was dressed in a black pant suit that made Will think of a lawyer.

 

The woman was blonde but her hair was pulled back in a ponytail and her skin was tanned, but she wasn’t local. Will pretty much knew everyone in this little area and this woman did not fit in here. She had on sunglasses so Will couldn’t tell who she was but there was something about her that made him think he had seen her before somewhere.

 

She was very beautiful, but not in an everyman would want her way. Her confidence made her beautiful. It shined all over her and that is what made her beautiful.

 

“Are you Will Graham?” Will stood up, facing her fully.

 

“Yes. Can I help you with something?” The woman took a step forward and took off her glasses. Will about had a heart attack.

 

It was Clarice Starling.

 

Will wouldn’t have known who she was if it wasn’t for the small fact that he had seen her face all over the news recently. She had dyed her hair and everything, but it was still her. Her face was the same as it was in the pictures they had of her on the news.

 

“What are you doing here?”

 

“I came to talk with you. I think we are long overdue for a little chat, don’t you think?” She replied with a smile. Will didn’t respond. He just turned and walked towards the house as Clarice followed him. He glanced around, looking to see if anyone was outside watching. Will opened the door to the house, letting her in.

 

He had no idea what he was setting himself up for, but he knew she wouldn’t hurt him. It wasn’t in her nature. He sensed no threat about her. She had no motive to kill him at the moment, so he was pretty safe. He walked in and saw her looking around the house as she removed her jacket.

 

“This is exactly how I pictured your house. He talked about this place a lot.” Will didn’t need to ask who ‘he’ was. He already knew. Will took a deep breath and calmed himself down. He kept telling himself that she would not hurt him. He was safe, especially since it seemed that Hannibal wasn’t here with her. So he was safe for the time being.

 

“What is it that you wanted to talk about?” Will was surprised by how calm he sounded.

 

“Shall we sit?” She asked as she looked back at him. Will just nodded and walked towards the living room. Will sat down in his chair as she sat down across from him. This all seemed so familiar yet very odd. She was being so formal, it didn’t sit well with Will. “You look good Will, not really what I was expecting.”

 

“Ah.” Will smiled as he looked down at his feet. “And what did the good doctor tell you to expect, that I was fucked up beyond repair?”

 

“No.” Clarice leaned forward and Will knew what was coming and he didn’t want to hear it. “Will…”

 

“How could you look passed what he is? How? He’s a monster.”

 

“That’s the thing Will, I didn’t look pass what he is.” She looked down at the floor for a few moments before looking back up at him. “I wake up every day knowing exactly what he is. I understand him Will, something you never did.”

 

“I understood him just fine. Do you know what he did to me?” Clarice looked down at the floor again.

 

“I know what he did. He and I talk about you a lot. In fact, you were one of the first things he brought up when I went to visit him in the asylum. I always wanted to meet you Will. We have a lot in common, you know.”

 

“He didn’t try and kill you, did he?”

 

“Will…”

 

“Did he send you here? Is he out there right now? Watching us?”

 

“No. I am here alone. Will, how much do you exactly know about Hannibal?”

 

“Enough. I know enough.”

 

“Hannibal cared about you in his own way. You were something different. You weren’t afraid of him and he saw himself in you.”

 

“That’s where you’re wrong. I was afraid of him. After I caught him, I was terrified to go and see him again. And he knew it. He could smell it on me. To this day I am scared of him.” Clarice seemed to ignore everything that he was saying.

 

“Hannibal is incapable of loving someone, did you know that?” Will looked up at her. What was the point of this conversation? What exactly was she trying to say. He was lost as to why she was even here.

 

“I did. He is very selfish and only cares about himself. He would do anything to make sure he was safe and doing what he wants, including framing me for all his murders. He was fine until I saw who he was. As long as he gets what he wants, he is fine.”

 

“Yes, he can be selfish, but he was made that way, Will. He had a family once. He loved once.” Will didn’t say anything to that. Every killer was like that. One was just not born a serial killer. Each one is made that way. “The only person he ever loved was his sister, Mischa.” Will didn’t know that he had a sister. Hannibal had never brought her up before. He had mentioned that he was orphaned at a young age, but he never said anything about a sister during their sessions.

 

“What happened to her?”

 

“She was killed when he was young. War criminals ate her.” Well that explains some things. “His heart died with her that day. He always says that nothing happened to him but it is a lie. I think we both know that. He isn’t just who he is. He was made that way, like every other serial killer out there. You always said you couldn’t find a motive on him, but there was one there. It was just hidden.”

 

“What exactly is your purpose here? Are you trying to make me feel for him? To forgive him? If that is the case you might as well leave now because that is not going to happen.” Clarice was silent for a bit. He could see that Clarice was lost. Hannibal described her as being this strong independent woman. And he could see that before. He had read about her in the papers. But she wasn’t that woman anymore. He saw her downfall. Hannibal helped her to the top and watched her downfall and took advantage of her situation and the information her had on her.

 

He had done the exact same to him. But Will had fought back. Clarice hadn’t.

 

“Are you happy, Clarice?”

 

“Yes.” He couldn’t tell if she was telling the truth or not, but he would take her word for it.

 

“I’m sorry about what happened with the FBI. Believe me, I know exactly how you feel.”

 

“Jack Crawford was just trying to replace what he lost. He thought he could do that with me.”

 

“Is that what Hannibal is doing with you?”

 

“We aren’t lovers, if that is what you are implying. I know what he is and choose to accept it. I let him go because I couldn’t stand to see him die. He is too special to be locked up in some cage, tortured by monsters. You know how Chilton handled him.”

 

“Yeah and I also know what happened to him. But look at my face Clarice.” Will pointed to his face before pulling up his shirt, showing her his other scar. “Hannibal tried to kill me, twice. I wake up every goddamn day knowing what he is too. He is forever a part of me. I can’t get rid of him even if I tried.”

 

“Hannibal told me about Garrett Jacob Hobbs.” Will refrained from rolling his eyes.

 

“And I know about Buffalo Bill. Did you feel bad for killing him?”

 

“No. I did it to save my life. Your problem Will, is that you need to release this fear. You don’t need to be afraid of Hannibal anymore. Once you understand him completely, then the fear will go away.”

 

“Again, if you were sitting where I was, you would fear him as I do.”

 

“You must overcome this fear…”

 

“Look, I know he won’t come back here. He said what he had to and left me to fill in the missing pieces. I did that. So you can go back and tell him that I am no longer this alcoholic shell of a man. I got my shit together and I would greatly appreciate it if he would stop checking up on me.”

 

“Alright. I will leave you to your life. Your wife will be home soon I imagine. I really wish we would have gotten to meet under different circumstances. You are an extraordinary person, Will Graham, I just wish you could see that for yourself.”

 

“It was a pleasure, Clarice. I read about your contributions to the FBI and you should be praised and looked up to. What they did to you was not fair. You didn’t deserve that. Hannibal took advantage of your situation and used it against you. I hope you understand that.”

 

“I do. But in doing that, he helped me get over what was holding me back. He did the exact same for you. Do you understand that?”

 

“I do. Only it was in a different way.” Clarice smiled as she stood up. She walked towards the door, grabbing her jacket on the way out. Will followed behind her slowly. As she opened the door, Will caught a glance at something on the table.

 

It was a small fishing lure. He stumbled forward, picking it up. It looked to be in perfect condition. The colors were very dark and sad. It reminded Will very much of himself.

 

“He was here wasn’t he? The whole time, he was in my house. Just, watching us.” Clarice turned and looked at him. She smiled when she saw the lure in his hand.

 

“Goodbye Will.” Will didn’t say anything as she walked away from the house. He stepped outside the door, watching her walk along the pathway and towards a car that hadn’t been there when she arrived.

 

He clutched the lure to his chest as the car drove off.

 

“Will?” He turned around and saw Molly walking over towards him. “Baby, what’s wrong? You look like you’ve seen a ghost or something.” He placed the lure in his pocket, hiding it from her.

 

“I’m just tired.” He walked towards her, smile on his face. “How about we go out for dinner tonight?”

 

“Sounds lovely.” Molly smiled up at him before wrapping her arm around him and walked with him into the house.

**Author's Note:**

> So, Thank you for reading. I know this story is a mess, so maybe some day I will come back and fix it up. But yeah, thank you all for reading, it means a lot to me. :)


End file.
